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Company Finds Gene That Causes Obesity
Aired October 30, 2002 - 14:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: A Utah biotech firm says it has pinpointed a gene that causes obesity. This is still in the very early stages. The company says it could be a first step in developing drugs to fight obesity.
Let's bring in our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen to sort it all out.
It does sounds like the magic pill perhaps.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Martin, I'm here to tell you that it probably is not. This is the kind of story that makes people say, Gosh, now I can eat as many Twinkies as I want all day long. And I'm telling you you should hold back on those Twinkies, for several different reasons.
Fist of all, even if this does turn out to be a really, really important discovery, they would have to do studies for at least six or seven years before they came up with a drug that could act on this gene.
Second of all, there are probably many, many genes that regulate obesity. This is not a one-gene disease. There are lots of other ones out there. For example, in 1995, scientists made discovery about a gene called leftin (ph), the leftin (ph) gene, and they have been trying to turn that into a drug. Seven years later, you'll notice that there is no leftin (ph) drugs out there on the market for you to take. So that has not yet panned out into a treatment.
Discovering a gene that regulates, or one of the genes that regulates, a certain disease, like obesity, does not mean that this is the magic pill; it does not mean that there is going to be an answer tomorrow or really any time -- Martin.
SAVIDGE: That has taken the air out of my sails.
COHEN: I'm sorry.
SAVIDGE: SAVIDGE: What drugs are out there now? Let's say to fight obesity?
COHEN: There are two drugs out there right now called Meridian (ph) and Zanacal (ph) that doctors can prescribe for obesity. Many doctors -- I would say most doctors who I've talked to who prescribe this drug -- say that it's been disappointing. It has not taken people from being obese to being not obese. In most cases when they've tried it, they say that the weight loss has been somewhat minimal.
So doctors are waiting for this next generation of drugs that are based on genes. They may be waiting awhile, but it's clear that the drugs out there now are not the answer for the obesity epidemic in the United States -- more than half of the people in this country are either overweight or obese.
SAVIDGE: There goes the hot fudge sundae for me.
COHEN: Sorry, Martin.
SAVIDGE: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much for that report.
COHEN: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 30, 2002 - 14:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: A Utah biotech firm says it has pinpointed a gene that causes obesity. This is still in the very early stages. The company says it could be a first step in developing drugs to fight obesity.
Let's bring in our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen to sort it all out.
It does sounds like the magic pill perhaps.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Martin, I'm here to tell you that it probably is not. This is the kind of story that makes people say, Gosh, now I can eat as many Twinkies as I want all day long. And I'm telling you you should hold back on those Twinkies, for several different reasons.
Fist of all, even if this does turn out to be a really, really important discovery, they would have to do studies for at least six or seven years before they came up with a drug that could act on this gene.
Second of all, there are probably many, many genes that regulate obesity. This is not a one-gene disease. There are lots of other ones out there. For example, in 1995, scientists made discovery about a gene called leftin (ph), the leftin (ph) gene, and they have been trying to turn that into a drug. Seven years later, you'll notice that there is no leftin (ph) drugs out there on the market for you to take. So that has not yet panned out into a treatment.
Discovering a gene that regulates, or one of the genes that regulates, a certain disease, like obesity, does not mean that this is the magic pill; it does not mean that there is going to be an answer tomorrow or really any time -- Martin.
SAVIDGE: That has taken the air out of my sails.
COHEN: I'm sorry.
SAVIDGE: SAVIDGE: What drugs are out there now? Let's say to fight obesity?
COHEN: There are two drugs out there right now called Meridian (ph) and Zanacal (ph) that doctors can prescribe for obesity. Many doctors -- I would say most doctors who I've talked to who prescribe this drug -- say that it's been disappointing. It has not taken people from being obese to being not obese. In most cases when they've tried it, they say that the weight loss has been somewhat minimal.
So doctors are waiting for this next generation of drugs that are based on genes. They may be waiting awhile, but it's clear that the drugs out there now are not the answer for the obesity epidemic in the United States -- more than half of the people in this country are either overweight or obese.
SAVIDGE: There goes the hot fudge sundae for me.
COHEN: Sorry, Martin.
SAVIDGE: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much for that report.
COHEN: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
